Aquaman: Oceanic Savior
CHANGE THIS AROUND (Garth doesn't die, Black Manta is villain) We open up on Aquaman being pummeled by an unseen foe. As he tries to lift himself up, he's dragged by his leg, and hit square in the face with a huge rock, causing him to white out as blood trickles from his face. His white out takes us back to when he was a young boy. He sits on a boat and asks his dad why they have to get rid of the boat. His father explains to him his "simple man" values, and that it makes sense since they're moving away from Amnesty Bay to Montana (or some other land locked state) as they talk, the camera pans away from them, and we see two figures rise from the waters (ATLANNA and her father). The man asks the woman if she wants to stay with her son and she says that she deosn't belong there, and her lover (Aquamans dad) doesn't belong in Atlantis. When it's pointed out that the boy is caught between two worlds and they should take him, she declines saying that the choice will come down to Arthur when the time is right. Fast foward to the present, a building that reads "AMNESTY BAY CHILDRENS CENTER", holds an adult Arthur as he sits in a waiting room for an interview. During his wait he has an exchange with two teens named GARTH and JACKY and during his interview the employer hires him as a counselor and, even though he can't swim, his first job is taking the kids to a beach to swim. His employer exasperatedly explains that the "OGREs" (Oceanic Geology Research and Excavation) keeps cordoning off areas of Amnesty Bay where the kids used to be taken for camp. The rumor is there was a major oil spill and O.G.R.E is covering it up. The next day, Arthur takes the kids to the beach, but like other places, it's been blocked off by O.G.R.E. Arthur has a heated exchange with JORDAN WYLIE (I think that here would be a funny place to put a Bruce Wayne reference, for example: Jordan says "He's worse than Bruce Wayne with his charity crap"). With nothing left to do, Arthur takes the kids back, but before he does he notices someone watching them from a rock out in the bay. Later that night, a mysterious figure attacks an O.G.R.E ship, ripping it apart using water based powers. Even though the figure is dressed in what resembles Aquamans' costume (later revealed to be what the ruler of atlantis wears) it is actually ORM. While his attack was clearly done in retaliation to the "oil spills", it is reported in the media the next day to have been an accident caused by a damaged ship. Arthur goes to the site, to see report the mysterious figure he saw to the cops, but before he can, he is kidnapped by O.G.R.E agents and interrogated by Wylie, though he denies any involvement. Wylie shows him footage of the mysterious figure attacking the ship and stops the footage at a point and they all see that the Orm resembles Arthur a great deal. Since O.G.R.E is involved in shady business dealings, they can't report Arthur to the cops, so they have him beaten and they abanon him on a small atoll far out out the Bay. Meanwhile in Atlantis, Atlanna and Orm, her half-brother, discuss the death of their father and what O.G.R.E is really doing in the ocean: drilling far undersea destabilizing tectonic plates and Atlantis in the process. Orm tells his sister of his attack on the ship, but Atlanna admonishes him, telling him that he should not have killed any humans. Orm disregards human lives noting that they don't care about the Atlanteans. In their discussion, the talk turns to the throne of Atlantis which is in peril because no full blooded royal has sat in it since the death of their father. Orm is the product of an affair so he can't rule, and Atlanna had abanonded Atlantis for a time in her youth (which resulted in Arthurs birth) so she also could not rule. The both of them lament the Atlantis' ruling council and it's inability to keep Atlanteans safe. While on the atoll, Arthur begins to experience his Atlantean side coming through. He hears whispers (the call of the ocean) while he stays on the land. The longer he stays on land the louder it gets, and it's only alleviated when he goes into the water. He starts to notice that he gets stronger the with every wade in the water. Each time he wades in the water he goes slightly deeper until he submerges himself. While submerged, he goes into a kind of trance where he hears beautiful singing (sirens song). At first it is distant and he can't understand it, but as he swims deeper underwater he gets freaked out because he notices that gills opened up on his neck and slowly he starts to understand the singing. When he finally figures out the song, he decides to swim towards it, still in his trance and the song is revealed to be a call home for all those with Atlantean blood. At O.G.R.E headquarters, Wylie and a group of his scientists talk about what they are really doing. They're drilling into the depths of the ocean near Atlantis so that they can create a tidal wave that would put Wylie temporarily in charge of Amnesty Bay, which would allow him to declare a state of emergency for A.B and would allow a quarantine of San Diego (in this continuity, Amnesty Bay is a part of San Diego), and a subsequent attack and destruction of Atlantis which he thinks is a threat. His scientists scoff at the idea of Atlantis until Jordan shows them a radar (or sonar, I'm not a damned scientist) showing the great underwater city. He says that they are making slow but sure progress, and will be ready within a months time. Next, we see Arthur, traveling still deeper in the water, until he passes through a "barrier". Once he passes the barrier, he notices that there is no more water, but breathable oxygenated air. Even though he has gills, Atlantean guards treat him as an outsider, until the Atlanna sees him and immediately recognizes him. She reveals to a worried Arthur what he is: heir to the throne of Atlantis and her son. She demands that a disgruntled Orm train him. Orm is tough on Arthur, believing him soft because of his years on land. He has only the slightest amount of patience for his nephew, and it's only because he resembles the old king. Arthur isn't that good at fighting at first, but excels at imprinting on the oceanic creatures, and during one particularly tough training session, summons a passing shark on Orm, who cuts the session short. While this happens, Atlanna talks to Arthur and explains his role in Atlantis and how important he is. Arthur remarks that he isn't so sure in himself, and his mother tells him how she knows he will choose the right path. On the surface, O.R.G.E finally finishes their project, detonating bombs creating a massive tidal wave that floods most parts of San Diego. Just like he predicted, the misguided California government turns over authority to O.G.R.E, who in turn activiates the National Guard and Jordan prepares to launch an attack on Atlantis. Back in Atlantis, torpedos hit the city, killing Atlanna and and everyone blames Arthur (the location of Atlantis was unknown before he arrived). Arthur argues that it wasn't him but that it doesn't matter because as heir apparent he is allowed to bring Atlantis out into the public. The Atlanteans rally around him after his speech, and he finally dons his Aquaman gear, telling his people that he doesn't choose the surface world or Atlantis, but both. He notices that Orm is no where to be found, then remembers the mysterious figure from when he first met Wylie; it was Orm, and they were working together because Orm was upset that he didn't get the throne. After halting the attacks on Atlantis, Arthur heads to Amnesty Bay, and is about to head to the O.G.R.E headquarters when he notices how panicked everyone is. He sees Garth and Jacky running around trying to save people and approaches them, asking for their help. They don't notice who he is at first, but once they do, they do it without question. As Orm walks the streets of a flooded San Diego, he gets to do what he's always wanted: kill humans indiscriminately. Now wearing his "Ocean Master" costume (but never actually calls himself this just yet) he tells Arthur that he will kill him slowly. He regards "halfbreeds" even worse than humans, and attacks Arthur. At the same time, Garth and Jacky steal a boat, and drive it through the streets of San Diego, distracting the National Guard, leaving only the O.G.R.Es behind. Arthur and Orm begin to fight, with Orm easily taking the upper hand, and we end up where we were at the beginning of the movie: Arthur gets slammed in the face with a rock and is dragged to Wylie who proceeds to beat the broken hero, condescendingly calling him "aquaman". He points out that Arthur doesn't belong anywhere as he is a half human, but notes that he has legitimate power. He tells Arthur graphically of how he will operate on him and use his Atlantean biology for profit. He then drags in Jacky and Garth and scolds Arthur for "making him do this" and shoots Garth, killing him. Arthur breaks through his binds and beats Jordan into submission, and as he turns to his uncle, he remembers how overpowered he is, and he tackles Orm through a window. As they fall towards the bay, Arthur gets in a few good punches but it's a distraction. As they land in the water, Arthur summons a shark that attacks Orm and drags him off screaming towards other sharks. O.G.R.E forces and the National Guard surround the bay, guns pointed at Arthur, but he's two steps ahead. He rises on a pillar of water, proclaiming the sovereignty of Atlantis, and stating that he is from both worlds, and choses none above the other. In a flash, he disappears. At the end, we see a report of the damage done to San Diego. The world now knows about Atlantis, and the Atlanteans help clean up San Diego. Though there were many deaths, the day is won with O.G.R.E being exposed, and Wylie is sent to Bell Reve. From Gotham to Central City, everyone is talking about the new hero that arose from the depths of the ocean. Right before we cut out, we see Jacky crying over the body of Garth, when he suddenly looks up. We see a hand (Aquamans) outstretched towards him. As Jacky takes his hand, we see faint tattoos that run along his arm. End.